Dragline arrangement for telescopic hydraulic crane

ABSTRACT

An attachment for converting a hydraulically operated telescopic crane boom so that it can be used to manipulate a bucket in a dragline operation is disclosed herein. The attachment consists of a direction changing sheave located adjacent the pivot point for the boom and guides at spaced points along the boom so that one of the two cables associated with the boom can be entrained over the direction sheave and used as the cable to drag and dump the bucket while the other cable is used to lift the bucket.

United States Patent [191 Lamer et al.

[ Oct. 7, l 975 DRAGLINE ARRANGEMENT FOR TELESCOPIC HYDRAULIC CRANE Inventors: Gerald P. Lamer; Ronald D. Seeley, both of Rothschild, Wis.

Assignee: J. I. Case Company, Racine, Wis.

Filed: May 21, 1974 Appl. No.: 471,864

US. Cl. 37/116; 37/135; 212/43; 212/55; 212/144; 254/190 R Int. Cl. E02F 3/48 Field of Search 37/116, 135, 136; 214/523, 214/15 C, 93; 212/144, 55, 43, 41, 42, 44; 254/190 R, 194, 195

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/1928 Wilson 37/116 11/1964 Wieger 212/42 3/1965 Le Bus, Jr. et a1 254/190 R 3,243,052 3/1966 Grove 3,605,987 9/1971 Sigismondo 37/116 X FOREIGN PATENTS O'R APPLICATIONS 118,454 3/1947 Sweden 37/116 Primary Examiner-Clifford D. Crowder Attorney, Agent, or Firm -Dressler, Goldsmith, Clement & Gordon, Ltd.

[5 7] ABSTRACT An attachment for converting a hydraulically operated telescopic crane boom so that. it can be used to manipulate a bucket in a dragline operation is disclosed herein. The attachment consists of a direction changing sheave located adjacent the pivot point for the boom and guides at spaced points along the boom so that one of the two cables associated with the boom can be entrained over the direction sheave and used as the cable to drag and dump the bucket while the other cable is used to lift the bucket.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures DRAGLINE ARRANGEIVIENT FOR TELESCOPIC HYDRAULIC CRANE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In conventional dragline excavators, a fixed length boom, normally of lattice construction, is supported on a base which is rotated about a vertical axis on a vehicle. A first cable extends over a pulley on the outer end of the boom and is attached to a lift yoke on the bucket while a second cable extends through an opening in the base and is attached to the bucket so that this cable may be used to drag and dump the bucket.

In operating such a unit, the first cable extending over the pulley on the free end of the boom is used to lift the bucket while the second cable extending through the base or turntable adjacent the base end of the boom is used to drag and dump the bucket.

The bucket is cast out by rotating the turntable and simultaneously releasing both cables so that the bucket falls freely.

Normally, this type of unit has the boom pivoted on the turntable and has cables interposed between the turntable and the outer end of the boom so that the angle of the boom may be changed by changing the length of the cable, which is normally accomplished by a drum that cooperates with the adjustable cables.

Because of the construction of such a machine, its use is normally limited to a dragline operation for a bucket.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a telescoping crane of the type disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,657,969 can be converted for use in a bucket dragline operation simply by attaching a direction changing sheave to the base section of the boom.

More specifically, a conventional telescoping crane is converted to a dragline bucket crane by attaching the direction changing sheave to a vertical wall of the base section of the telescoping boom. In addition, cable guides are attached to various boom sections at specific locations to prevent the cable from swaying away from the boom.

The crane to which the direction changing sheave is attached consists of a vehicle which has a turntable rotatably supported on a vertical axis on a base and a crane boom that is pivoted about a horizontal pivot axis on the turntable. The crane boom consists of a base section, an intermediate section, and an outer end section, which are all telescoped relative to each other, preferably by hydraulic rams of the type shown in the above mentioned patent. The crane also has a main winch having a cable thereon and an auxiliary winch having an auxiliary cable thereon, both of which are supported on the turntable. The auxiliary winch cable is entrained over two pulleys on the outer end of the outer boom section and then is extended through a plurality of guides that are located on the boom sections and ultimately entrained over a direction changing sheave located on the base boom section adjacent the pivot axis for the boom. The main cable is entrained over a pair of pulleys on the outer end of the outer boom section and both cables are attached to a bucket.

In operation, the bucket may be cast by rotating the turntable on the base and simultaneously releasing both cables so that the bucket is cast like a fishing line.

All of the necessary equipment for converting a conventional crane to a dragline crane can be separately produced and attached to existing machinery at a minimum cost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a conventional telescoping crane which has been converted for use as a dragline crane;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the outer end of the outer boom section; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the direction changing sheave which is attached to the base section of the boom.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated.

FIG. 1 of the drawings discloses a mobile crane, generally designated by the reference numeral 10. Mobile crane 10 consists of a frame or base 12 that is supported on wheels 14 and has Outriggers 16 connected thereto which are extensible to raise the base and wheels above the ground in order to provide a fixed support. A turntable 18 is supported for rotation about a vertical axis on the base through suitable drive mechanisms, such as a hydraulic motor attached to the base and a ring gear on the turntable.

Crane 10 also includes a boom 22 that is pivoted at one end about a horizontal pivot axis 24 on turntable 18 through a hydraulic ram 26.

Boom 22 consists of a base section 30, an intermediate section 32 and an outer end section 34. The three boom sections are generally of polygonal hollow configuration, more specifically rectangular, and are mounted in telescoping relation to each other. The telescoping of the boom sections may be accomplished by hydraulic rams of the type shown in the above mentioned patent.

In a crane of this type, a main winch is normally supported on turntable l8 and a cable 42 wound on main winch 40 extends along the boom to the outer free end where cable 42 is entrained over a pulley 44. A cable hoisting block (not shown) is normally operated by the main cable and supported on the free end of outer boom section 34 through a plurality of pulleys 45 rotatably supported on a cross pin and a hoisting block having similar pulleys (not shown) with main cable 42 entrained over the pulleys.

Cranes of this type also normally have a jib extension which may be attached to the outer free end of boom section 34.

An auxiliary winch 46 is also supported on turntable 18 and has a cable 48 extending therefrom and entrained over a further pulley 5'0 on the outer end of the boom.

When the jib extension is attached to the outer end of outer boom section, auxiliary winch cable 48 extends across pulley 50 and over an additional pulley (not shown) on the outer end of the jib extension so that a load may be supported on a hook attached to the free end of auxiliary cable 48.

According to the present invention, this conventional type of crane boom can be converted for use as a dragline crane or excavator by attaching a direction changing sheave to the base section of the boom. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, direction changing sheave 60 is rotatably supported on a pin 62 that extends between a pair of plates 64, one of which is attached to a triangular plate 66 which in turn is supported on a bracket structure 68 secured to the vertical wall of base boom section 30.

The plates 64, 66 and bracket 68 act as support means 72 on the base section 30 of the boom for direction changing sheave 60.

Plates 64 are held in spaced relation by spacers 70. In the illustrated embodiment, three circumferentially spaced spacer means 70 are positioned approximately 120 degrees apart. ,These spacer means 70 will insure that the cable is at all times maintained on direction changing sheave 60.

To insure that the cable is not caught or rubs on selected portions of the boom as well as the piston rod portion of fluid ram 26, boom 22 also has guide means between sheave 60 and pulleys 45. Any number and location of guide means can be used and in the illustrated embodiment, cable 48 passes under a roller 74 that extends transversely across the bottom of intermediate section 32 at the outer end thereof and then passes over a further roller 76 that extends transversely across outer end of the base section 30 of the crane boom. Further guides 78 and 80 are located at spaced points along the vertical wall of base section 30 which has sheave 60 supported thereon. With the cable guides positioned as indicated, the cable will be prevented from swaying away from the boom when it is being used as a dragline. The cable guides also prevent the cable from rubbing on the piston rod portion of the fluid ram which is used to raise and lower the boom with respect to the turntable.

Any of various types of cable guides could be utilized. For example, the guides 78 and 80 could be in the form of rods which are welded or otherwise secured to the wall of the spaced sections and provides a restricted opening through which the cable passes.

To further insure that the cable does not rub on the piston rod of fluid ram 26, support means 72 is designed to place the lowermost edge of sheave 60 away from the adjacent vertical wall of boom section 30 while the upper edge of sheave 60 is in close proximity thereto. As most clearly shown in FIG. 3, plate 66 is triangular and is connected directly to flat plate 64 so that the axis of pin 62 forms an acute angle with respect to the horizontal pivot axis for boom 22 defined by pin 24.

The operation of the dragline crane is believed to be understood from the above description but will be briefly summarized at this point. When the conventional telescoping crane boom is to be converted for use as a dragline crane, the hoisting block that normally is associated with the outer free end of the crane boom is removed and one of the cables, such as auxiliary cable 48 is entrained over an upper pulley 50 and a lower pulley 45 on the outer free end of outer boom section 34. The cable then extends under roller 74 and over roller 76 and passes through cable guides 78 and 80 and around sheave 60 so that the free end thereof may be attached directly to the back of a bucket. The

other cable or main cable 42 extends over a pair of pulleys 44, 45 on the outer free end of outer end boom section 34 and is attached to the bucket to act as a lifting cable.

The telescoping crane boom can then be extende and angularly positioned to the desired point for a dragline operation and the two cables utilized to manipulate the bucket. In order to cast the bucket, as is required in a dragline operation, both the auxiliary and main winches are released so that the bucket is free to fall. At the same time, turntable 18 is rotated about its vertical axis to cast the bucket to the desired position for operation.

As can be seen from the above description, the present invention provides an extremely simple and inexpensive attachment that can be used for converting a conventional telescoping crane to a dragline bucket crane or excavator. The use of a telescoping crane that is hydraulically actuated and can readily be pivoted with respect to turntable 18 has also additional advantages in that the outer free end of the crane boom can readily be positioned at any desired location by manipulation of the controls normally associated with a vehicle of this type. By locating the sheave 60 along the side wall of a base section of the boom, the direction changing sheave will not in any way interfere with the operation of the fluid rams to raise and lower the boom which are normally associated with the bottom wall of the boom.

What is claimed is:

1. In a vehicle having turntable rotatable about a vertical axis on a base and a multipurpose crane boom pivoted about a horizontal pivot axis on said turntable, said crane boom having at least three boom sections, said boom sections including at least a base section pivoted on said horizontal pivot, an outer end section telescoped relative to said base section, and an intermediate section between said base section and said outer end section, said outer end section having a plurality of pulleys rotatable on a free end thereof, a pair of cables entrained over respective ones of said pulleys, and means for winding and unwinding said cables, the improvement of a sheave, support means on said base section rotatably supporting said sheave adjacent said horizontal pivot, a first guide for one of said cables on the outer end of said base section and a second guide member on the outer end of said intermediate section for guiding said one of said cables, said one of said cables extending from said means for winding and unwinding over said pulley, said guide means and said sheave, respectively, and having a free end adapted to be attached to a dragline bucket so that said cables can be used to support and operate a bucket in a dragline operation.

2. A vehicle as defined in claim 1, in which said boom sections are substantially rectangular and have horizontal walls and vertical walls and in which said sheave is supported adjacent one of said vertical walls of said base section.

3. A vehicle as defined in claim 2, in which said base section includes further guide means on said vertical wall of said base section intermediate said sheave and said first guide.

4. A vehicle as defined in claim 3, in which said support means includes a pair of spaced plates on opposite sides of said sheave, spacer means between said plates, said spacer means being spaced from the periphery of respect to said horizontal pivot axis so that a lower edge of said sheave is transversely spaced from said vertical wall by a greater dimension than an upper edge of said sheave. 

1. In a vehicle having turntable rotatable about a vertical axis on a base and a multipurpose crane boom pivoted about a horizontal pivot axis on said turntable, said crane boom having at least three boom sections, said boom sections including at least a base section pivoted on said horizontal pivot, an outer end section telescoped relative to said base section, and an intermediate section between said base section and said outer end section, said outer end section having a plurality of pulleys rotatable on a free end thereof, a pair of cables entrained over respective ones of said pulleys, and means for winding and unwinding said cables, the improvement of a sheave, support means on said base section rotatably supporting said sheave adjacent said horizontal pivot, a first guide for one of said cables on the outer end of said base section and a second guide member on the outer end of said intermediate section for guiding said one of said cables, said one of said cables extending from said means for winding and unwinding over said pulley, said guide means and said sheave, respectively, and having a free end adapted to be attached to a dragline bucket so that said cables can be used to support and operate a bucket in a dragline operation.
 2. A vehicle as defined in claim 1, in which said boom sections are substantially rectangular and have horizontal walls and vertical walls and in which said sheave is supported adjacent one of said vertical walls of said base section.
 3. A vehicle as defined in claim 2, in which said base section includes further guide means on said vertical wall of said base section intermediate said sheave and said first guide.
 4. A vehicle as defined in claim 3, in which said support means includes a pair of spaced plates on opposite sides of said sheave, spacer means between said plates, said spacer means being spaced from the periphery of said sheave and acting to maintain the cable on said sheave.
 5. A vehicle as defined in claim 4, in which said support means includes a pin between said plates rotatably supporting said sheave for rotation about an axis that is located in a plane which defines an acute angle with respect to said horizontal pivot axis so that a lower edge of said sheave is transversely spaced from said vertical wall by a greater dimension than an upper edge of said sheave. 